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Edmonton Eskimos' Dexter McCoil celebrates the winning field goal as Ottawa Redblacks' Travis Brown makes his way back to the bench during CFL action in Ottawa on Friday Aug 15, 2014. Eskimos defeated the Redblacks 10- 8. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

OTTAWA — The scene was almost picturesque. The Ottawa Redblacks stood on their sideline, O Canada

being performed in the nation’s capital. A sellout crowd was on hand at TD Place, ready to watch their new team for just the third time this season.

The only thing missing was the Edmonton Eskimos.

In a sense it was picturesque because the Eskimos team that made its way onto the field shortly after the anthem concluded was not the one that its fans have come to know this Canadian Football League season. The Esks were undisciplined, sloppy and couldn’t hang onto the ball.

That they won the game — an unattractive 10-8 rug yanking on a last-minute 27-yard field goal from kicker Grant Shaw — falls under two trains of thought. It’s either miraculous or a

testament to the team’s ability to get into its absolute-last-chance, no-more-room-for-mistakes zone and pull out a win, even if it was return-to-sender ugly.

Grant Shaw of the Edmonton Eskimos kicks a last-minute, game-winning field goal against the Ottawa Redblacks during a CFL game at TD Place Stadium on August 15, 2014 in Ottawa. (Andre Ringuette/Getty Images)

Despite not scoring any touchdowns, losing two fumbles, a Mike Reilly interception and a third-down gamble blow up that preceded Shaw’s heroics, the Eskimos found a way to improve to 6-1.

Oh, and the Eskimos gave up 133 yards in penalties, with 65 of them coming in the first quarter.

Some might say it’s a lucky win, forcing a fumble off of former Eskimos receiver Matt Carter as he’s inside the Edmonton 10-yard line and headed for a touchdown. Cornerback Alonzo Lawrence chased Carter down on the play and rookie linebacker Deon Lacey recovered the ball, setting up the clock-devouring 10-play, 83-yard drive that Shaw finished off for the win.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “We drove the length of the field on a good defence that had been holding us all night long and we scored a field goal.

“We didn’t score but 10 points. They only scored eight, and for us to get a field goal that late and to drive that far, I thought it was a great drive.

“I thought (offensive co-ordinator) Steve (McAdoo) did a good job mixing the play calls and certainly Mike (Reilly) took it on his shoulders and (Adarius) Bowman made some great catches. I can’t say enough about the kick and the pressure situation.”

Mike Reilly of the Edmonton Eskimos picks himself up after a long run against the Ottawa Redblacks during a CFL game at TD Place Stadium on August 15, 2014 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Andre Ringuette/Getty Images)

Shaw made three of four field goals, with a first-half miss ending his consecutive streak at a career-best 11, while chipping in two singles.

Ottawa kicker Brett Maher was his team’s offence as well, making two of three attempts and adding two singles. The other half of the ugly couple on the night, the Redblacks were flagged eight times for 80 yards, fumbled twice and lost the ball once.

“That’s a fundamental thing,” Carter said of his fumble after the game. “I feel sick about it right now, but I’ll learn from it and I’ll come back (Saturday) and get back to basics.”

The Eskimos offence began to get close to its groove in the second half under Reilly, who discovered his running game in the third quarter. Rushing eight times for 78 yards, he took a beating trying to get points for the Eskimos and put the game on his shoulders. He finished with 25 completions on 36 passes for 271 yards.

In the highest possible pressure situation, Reilly and the offence got the ball up to Ottawa’s 20-yard-line again. This time, it was enough.

“That’s when your playmakers are going to stand up and make plays,” Reilly said. “Our offence finally came together. It took 59 minutes for it to happen, but we finally did. We’ll clean up the first 58 minutes, for sure.”

Bowman had six catches for 92 yards to lead the Eskimos, who end their 10-day road trip with a pair of wins, counting last week’s victory over the Montreal Alouettes.

As for the team’s late arrival on the field, Jones said a communication issue with a league official delayed them. They stayed in the tunnel of the building while the anthem played. A similar situation occurred for the Eskimos in Winnipeg and Montreal, but this is the first time they missed the anthem.